A Different Perspective on Our Scrolling

Do you remember your first few years on social media? You could find me in middle school on my desktop computer typing out my ~AwAy MeSsaGe~ with the AIM screen name of wildchild123. I wrote goofy little inside jokes on my friends’ Facebook walls and updated my Facebook statuses like they were a diary I wanted to share with the world. My Facebook “memories” from that stage of my life continue to haunt me to this day. 

These days I open up my Instagram feed and, within 5 minutes, see friends at the beach, a friend closing on a house, a friend announcing a pregnancy, and a friend with a new puppy. After 5 minutes on TikTok, I’ve saved a few recipes, found some Amazon deals, and learned some new hairstyles. 

As young adults, we practically invented the art of social media. We grew up with it, and it grew up with us. It’s changed over the years in many ways, but in other ways it’s stayed the same. 

I don’t have to tell you that social media has its pros and cons. We have known this all along. Social media keeps us in the loop, helps us remember birthdays, and provides us with endless adorable dog videos that make us laugh. But the truth is, social media has a grip on most of us more than we would like to admit. The way we interact with social media and how we think and feel about our presence on it reflects the condition of our hearts. And as we dig toward the root of our social media addictions, our sinful hearts are exposed. Soon, we begin to uncover the idols we are worshiping in this world and in ourselves. 

The world will never satisfy the deep longings in our hearts. This grip is not unique to social media—it's something that humans have battled against since Bible times, which is why these words from Jesus’ disciple, John, are still so relevant to us today: 1 John 2:16 (NLT) - “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 

Consuming Content vs. Craving Contentment 

You know what feels good? Coming home from a long day at work, laying on the couch, and mindlessly scrolling on your phone. However, what might bring us temporary relief from thinking about a stressful day doesn’t bring us the comfort we are really looking for. 

Colossians 3:2 (NIV) says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” So after a long day at work, what we really need to do is just that: Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. When we try to cure worldly problems with more worldly problems, they don’t cancel each other out and won’t bring us the lasting satisfaction we are looking for. But when we set our minds on things above, our perspective shifts, and God brings us to a place of peace that only He can provide. 

We can redeem habits of mindless scrolling by turning to Jesus first when we are feeling stressed, angry, sad, or lonely. Remember that setting boundaries for ourselves and being mindful about what we consume isn’t necessarily fun, but it’s good for us. 

Greed vs. Gratitude

As you scroll through social media, you can suddenly find yourself needing things you didn’t even know you needed. As Ariana Grande once said, “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.” We may find ourselves becoming more and more materialistic and wishing for more money, clothes, and vacations. We compare ourselves to our friends or to influencers thinking that we would be just a little bit happier if we had a little bit more. Yet, the problem with greed is that it’s never enough. 

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV) says, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless”

We can also find ourselves comparing our achievements and successes in life to those of others. This is especially true in the season of being a young adult. Our feeds are filled with people graduating, buying houses, getting married, starting new jobs, and having kids. You might think you’re content with where you are in life until you see that another friend is getting engaged or experiencing some other big life milestone, and suddenly you feel behind compared to everyone else. 

The enemy loves to use the comparison game of social media to confuse us and make us forgetful of the blessings in our own lives. We can quickly become resentful toward God for holding back blessings we wish we had, and it becomes hard to celebrate our friends because, at our deepest core, we are battling envy. 

One way to conquer the idols of envy and greed is to practice gratitude. We are so forgetful when it comes to God’s blessings in our lives, and it helps to make note of things we are grateful for by writing them down. Gratitude leads to contentment, and out of contentment, we can better celebrate other people’s successes with a genuine happiness for them.

Comparison vs. Celebration

Social media can also cause us to hyper-fixate on ourselves and what other people think of us. But what would it look like for us to use social media in a way that focuses more on others and less on ourselves? 

The Bible tells us in Romans 12:15 (NIV), “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

So when our friends are rejoicing in an exciting moment in their lives, we should rejoice too. We could do that on social media by leaving an encouraging comment when someone passes a big test or buys their first home. It also means that if someone posts about a loss of a family member or a struggle with infertility, we should mourn with them too. This could look like posting a supportive comment or, even better, closing our social media and offering our love and support in person. 

Joy That Lasts

Nothing that social media offers will bring us lasting joy. More than that, nothing in this world will bring us lasting joy. 1 John 2:17 reminds us of this: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (NLT).

Trends and fads come and go, and people will always be trying to keep up. In this world, as soon as we hit one big life milestone, we typically find ourselves racing to the next. Life can easily become an endless race, but it doesn’t have to be. As followers of Jesus who are called into the abundant life of peace and joy He offers in every season, we must remember to slow it down and focus on what really matters. If you let Him, God will use your current season and circumstances to grow your relationship with Him in beautiful ways, and to encourage others in your same season both now and in the future.